We headed west from Lathrop State Park in Colorado on Route 160. Beautiful views on the way , going through two 9,400 foot passes and ---------
Blanca Peak--14,345 feet.
A turn north on Route 150 and west on Route 6n brings us to San Luis Lakes State Wildlife Area.
As it turned out, the campground, with electric hookups , was free.
And the view above was of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from our site.
Looking to the left in the distance is part of the Great Sand Dunes National Park. There were a number of RVs here. Probably because the National Park campground was full.
We will agree that the sand dunes seem totally out of place here at the foot of the mountains.
The dunes rise up to 755 feet above Medano Creek that flows by here. People climbing the dunes are little dots(you can see a file of them heading up on the right side.) Kids were splashing in the creek and making sand castles.
These are the tallest sand dunes in North America, about 440,000 years old. The prevailing winds out of the southwest blow the sand from western mountains and then from the dunes themselves. Lesser winds from the northeast blow through the mountain passes and blow the sand back on the dunes.
The water flow causes waves. You don't see these mountain views at the ocean beaches. And yes----the water is cold!
From the dunes we head west on Route 6n to Route 17 north to Route 285 north to Salida, Colorado. Our destination is Ruby Mountain SRA Campground at the Arkansas Headwaters. We called a number for the state office in Salida and had a wonderful talk with Mary, who helped us to choose Ruby Mountain(there was another campground-more difficult to get to) and to reserve a great site. Wish all of the reservation operators were as helpful.
Inside the park, this gate leads to the Ruby Mountain Ranch, a private home.
What do you think? Could you live here?
The property looked in good shape, but no one seemed to be here at this time.
We have spent a bit of time around Little Rock, Arkansas and enjoyed a number of different Corps of Engineer parks on the Arkansas River. So this was great to be at the headwaters in Colorado. If any readers have a question about too many National Monuments in the U.S., just staying here for a few days would illustrate for you how many people take advantage of the river and the hiking,atv, and horse trails. By the way the following is a link to a current (May 26, 2019) news bulletin about a record crest of the Arkansas River to come at Van Buren,Arkansas--near Fort Smith. We camped at Lake Fort Smith State Park on November 15, 2018. We met some very nice people in the park office and in the camp.
And a link to a few images from the recent flooding
WSA means Wilderness Study Area. There are 22,000 acres here and miles of trails.
A link to info on Browns Canyon WSA
Also, there are some dedicated outdoor groups in this area of Colorado. Check the links in the following
There are also links for trails on the website.
A view from above the river(hidden behind the trees)
Lady Blue loves her campsite.
Everywhere you look are views.
We saw a number of rafters coming down the Arkansas. The signs and maps indicate that you can raft for around 20 miles.
Hard to catch a picture, but there were a few who rode the river on standing paddle boards.
A lot of work went into the stones and gravel and leveling to create camping sites like this one. The steps go down to the tent site. You can see to the left of the middle tree the table for the same site. And all right on the river.
While we were there, a busload of school children--older elementary or younger middle school--came with a number of adults to spend a full day. They divided into 3 groups at tables and were totally into various lessons. GREAT!!!
Worked a bit to get this picture upriver.
Above video is from Lady Blue's back window.
Jan and Bruce really enjoyed Ruby Mountain.
Our camp road. This corner is a single lane road.
Luckily no traffic when we entered and when we left.
A view downriver from the road.
Do you see Lady Blue??
Once again in Colorado, we can watch the clouds form as the moisture is forced up by winds against the mountains.
All kinds of rafters.
Just a picture from our back window.
Somebody's gotta do it!
Sometimes a group of rafters.
Views again as we leave Ruby Mountain and head into Salida.
Jan and I enjoyed our short visit to Salida. The people were very helpful and friendly. We were impressed by the homes, most of which were of different designs and looked very comfortable. The town itself reminds us of a North Conway, New Hampshire, in the sense that a lot of business is geared to outdoor adventure and the population we saw was fairly young. Unlike North Conway, it did not seem to have a touristy feel to it.
The following link is to images from Salida on their home page.
You might like to click around for other galleries like the videos, or the dining guide.
